Midnight
by romancing-the-moon
Summary: At one point she hated night and everything it represented but now Princess Luna dances between the stars.


At one point, she hated night, hated that the other ponies slept through it and ignoring her in the process. When she was a filly, her parents, the King and Queen of Equestria told her and her older sister, Celestia, that they had two different, yet exceptionally important responsibilities in the kingdom.

Their mother and father were two beautiful alicorns. The Queen, white with golden pink hair was the embodiment of a summer's sunrise, wrapped a grand feathered wing around her eldest daughter's shoulders and taught her all about raising the sun. Wide-eyed and eager, Celestia naturally excelled at her new task and with her mother's guiding hoof beside her, it wasn't long before she raised the sun all by herself and a cutie mark of a brilliant sun appeared on her flank.

Unfortunately, Luna didn't have the same luck with her own responsibility. Raising the moon proved much more difficult for her than what Celestia seemed to be going through. Even though her her father, a brilliant navy blue alicorn with a mane made up of sparkling stars and heavenly bodies, was a patient and kind teacher, it took years before Luna managed to raise the moon by herself. Although her family was proud of her and Celestia particularly liked the crescent moon cutie mark that finally appeared on her flank, Luna couldn't help but feel as if her parents were mistaken, as if she wasn't meant to raise the moon at all.

All her life, she had been trained for this moment - the moment when she would raise the moon by herself and everyone would hail her as Princess Luna of Equestira. Everything would fall into place, make sense and bind her to where she belonged. But all she felt was shame and regret, living life in her older sister's shadow and those feelings were compounded when she realized that no one but her father ever knew how beautiful the midnight moon was. Her mother and sister and all of the other ponies in Equestria slept through the night. There were songs and poems written about sunrises, daylight and sunsets, but few were ever about night and the moon. She was frustrated and dejected: she worked so hard and even though her parents and sister tried to calm her down, Luna had difficulty accepting that whether or not any pony saw her beautiful moon, she was still good at what she did. Defeated, her sadness turned into anger, growing inside of her until she snapped and became Nightmare Moon. But that was a lifetime ago, and now, free from her lonesome prison, she could appreciate night by herself and without the need for anyone else's approval.

Midnight was her favourite time. She blended seamlessly with the dark blue sky as she danced between the stars. Where once she saw only pain and anguish in the night sky, she realized now how beautiful night really was. Shooting stars and The Northern Lights were there all for her and she completed the scene by hanging the moon in the center of the sky. Night was her beautiful secret, her perfect creation. She smiled happily as she bended between the few wisps of clouds that hung in the night sky. As an alicorn, she could have easily dispelled the clouds, but chose not to: it was far more fun to play in and around clouds than it was to play in air. Besides, air had its own purpose: nothing felt better than the feeling of air as it rushed through her sparkling mane. She used her tail as a rudder so she was still able to control herself but at the same time, she let her body free fall, the clouds, breaking her fall.

When she was a child, she would have given anything to trade places with her sister. The sun seemed so much more bright and beautiful than the cold grey stare of the moon. But she finally realized that this was exactly where she was meant to be: hanging the moon in the sky, drifting through the night air. This was where she loved to be. Relief set in when she realized that her father had been right all along and her cutie mark wasn't a mistake after all. She spent the whole night flying through the sky, well passed midnight, until something caught her eye.

A white flash leaped into the air from the palace in Canterlot and immediately, Luna knew that it was her sister, Celestia, but it was far too early for her to be raising the sun.

"How now, Princess?" Luna's voice thundered through the air when they were close enough to talk with each other.

"Good evening little sister," Celestia said happily. She kicked the air as her wings pumped, breathing white puffs into the cold night air. "I was hoping that perhaps we could lower the moon and raise the sun together."

"Together? Why art thou interested in such an activity with us?" Luna asked, unable to keep the suspicion out of her voice but was happy Celestia either missed it or ignored it completely.

"Because our mother and father meant for us to rule Equstria together and I would like very much for you to teach me how to lower the moon."

Luna was shocked, hesitant about sharing her nighttime secrets with anyone, even her sister. But Luna thought for a moment and suddenly she realized that was exactly what she wanted all along.

"And perhaps then," Luna said slowly, "you can teach us how to raise the sun."

Princess Celestia beamed at her younger sister and nodded her head. She kicked the air enthusiastically and without another word, the two Royal Sisters of Equestria climbed the night sky and danced between the stars. Luna's beautiful moon was replaced by a gorgeous sun that lit up all of Equestria. Like every morning before that morning, Princess Celestia raised the sun for her kingdom, but this morning was different. This morning she had the help of her beloved younger sister, who finally found her place by lowering the moon with a grace and skill unlike any other and even though few ponies knew that this morning was truly different, all that mattered was that they both found their places in the sky.


End file.
